


Justice in the Balance (money in hand)

by Sassaphrass



Series: The Devil Wears Gladiator Sandles- verse [3]
Category: Spartacus Series (TV), Spartacus: War of the Damned
Genre: Caesar is a defense lawyer, Caesar is morally ambiguous, Crassus thinks he's smart but he's not really, Denial, Friendship is Magic!!, He's kind of awful, Kore is wonderful, Male/Female Friendship, Rape Recovery, Warning: Tiberius is an evil little shit, but only kind of, unlikely friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-15
Updated: 2014-08-15
Packaged: 2018-02-13 07:40:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2142705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sassaphrass/pseuds/Sassaphrass
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Julius is the top defense lawyer at the firm of Crassus & Sons and it's been a long road getting there, but now he's happily settled into a life of helping murders and rapists walk free while being paid LOTS of money. </p>
<p>In most ways he's a complete asshole. </p>
<p>But, when it comes to Kore, he's the best friend a girl could ask for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Justice in the Balance (money in hand)

**Author's Note:**

> For the purposes of this fic I use Julius when talking about Caesar because I'm leaving out Gaius in his name since it just makes more sense in a modern AU for him to be named Julius Caesar. (and even Caesar doesn't think of himself using his last name). 
> 
> Also, warnings for Caesar and Kore being raped. It's a main theme in this fic. So, be warned.

Julius is well aware that he's something of an asshole. A big part of it is his job. He is a defense attorney and he is a damn good one. Ex-military with the self-discipline of a medieval saint and the soul of a fratboy he spends most of his time helping murderers walk free. And is payed a truly sickening amount for the privilege.

 

So, yes, in the karmic balance of the universe he sucks. And will probably be reincarnated as a dung beetle or something in the next life for his crimes.

 

But, there are terrible people and then there are _terrible_ people and Julius knows that really he is only terrible in that he performs well in a job that most people find morally repungnant due to it's being a position which reinforces the racial and economic prejudices and divides already present in society.

 

But, he has met people who are to the very depths of their souls awful and he knows he is not one of them.

 

Tiberius, Crassus' awful son for instance who-

 

\---who is an emotionally stunted rapist with enough money and power to make _anyone_ look the other way.

 

Except Kore.

 

Julius will only ever love one woman (sweet Cornelia his angel of the house, domestic goddess and queen of heaven) but he really likes Kore too -in a completely different sort of way, of course.

 

She has an old soul and kind eyes and he remembers gingerly prodding the bruise from where the desk had dug into his face when Tiberius had-

 

He remembers her finding him in the guest bathroom in the Crassus mansion after that awful awful party that Marcus had organized but not attended.

 

She'd very gently dabbed some polysporin on the cut and with a sad smile offered him a choice between the super-hero bandaids and the regular ones.

He'd taken the super-hero bandaids, and she had laughed, asked no questions, and told him how to leave the property without running into anyone.

 

His has not been a life where such small mercies were often so freely given. His mother was a hard relentless woman. His life had, until the moment he got his job at Crassus & Co, felt like one desperate scramble to keep from being swallowed by the families debts.

 

Real unselfish kindness had, until that day, been a rare thing from anyone except Cornelia.

 

So when Kore walked into his office claiming to have been raped by Tiberius, Julius had brought his now considerable personal resources to bear on helping her, even if his own powers were so meagre in comparison to the Crassus family's.

 

He'd driven her to the hospital and gotten her a rape kit, and made sure it was processed so she could press charges. When she'd told him she couldn't bear to. He'd nodded and accepted it.

 

After all, he hadn't even ever told anyone.

 

When she'd started crying he'd pulled the car over and asked if it would be alright if he held her. He still considers it one of the great privileges of his life that she said yes.

 

When she'd confessed that she'd never again feel safe under any roof owned by a Crassus he'd driven to her apartment and packed as much of her stuff as he could before driving her to a hotel.

 

He'd offered to give her whatever money she needed for a down-payment on a place but she'd just smiled her soft smile and told him he'd done enough for one day.

 

When he got home his wife had asked him where he'd been and he'd replied that an old friend had needed help moving. He's never told her what had really happened.

 

He doesn't think he ever will. Cornelia should be wrapped up safe away from the world, and not forced to confront it's ugliness. The same goes for his dear little daughter. The man he is with them is separate from the man he is when he's out in the world.

 

It is probably one of the strangest things about him, that his closest friend is the former-mistress of his boss who he bonded with because they were both terrorized by said boss' evil toad of a son. But, it's the truth. Kore is his dearest friend. His only friend really, the others are all attorney's with the souls of frat-boys who know how to have a good time but who Julius would trust about as far as he could throw.

 

 Julius would trust Kore as far as Katmandu and back.

 

Cornelia, bless her sweet sweet soul, has blithely accepted Julius' new friendship and is never stricken by jealousy that there was another woman who occupied a considerable portion of his time and heart (and why should she be? Julius would only ever love her- not matter who else he might have sex with).

 

And it is a consolation to know that there are now two things in the world that Julius has done which are irrevocably and simply good. It's _satisfying_ to know that he is capable of virtues beyond brutality even if he displays them so rarely.

 

Besides it's good for Cornelia to have some company, and Julius enjoys having a friend who can be invited over for dinner without being a bad influence on his daughter.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I love Caesar in the show. I think it's probably one of my favourite depictions of one of my favourite historical figures. One thing that was really interesting to me was how, despite in many ways being more brutal than Marcus Crassus, he (to my mind at least) is much more compassionate than him. 
> 
> Especially the part where he sticks his neck out to try and help Kore. 
> 
> (Also the scene at the end with her on the cross made me much sadder when I remembered the story of Caesar and the pirates- Caesar was kidnapped and spent a few months with these pirates waiting for the ransom and sort of became friends with them after they got the ransom and let him go he was put in charge of ridding the Meditereanean of Pirates. He eventually caught the people who had captured him and crucified them for it. But, because they had been his friends he cut their throats first so that they wouldn't have to suffer a slow painful death on the cross. These are the people who kidnapped him. Imagine what he must think of Crassus for not having the decency to do that for the woman he supposedly 'loves'. Just a thought).
> 
> So, I thought I'd give Caesar some screen time in my verse. Comments? Please?


End file.
